Native American Autobiography: An Anthology. Arnold Krupat. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1995. xi + 546 pages, 20 illustrations. $17.95. While the past three decades have seen a burst of creative work and attending literary scholarship in Native American studies, there has been a dearth of work on Native American autobiography. Only a handful of texts exist by a limited number of scholars such as Arnold Krupat, David Brumble, Hertha Wong, Jane Katz, and Gretchen Batille and Kathleen Mullen Sands. The scarcity of such work can be attributed, in part, to the problematic nature of the genre itself. In his latest contribution to Native American Studies, Arnold Krupar has assembled a useful collection of autobiographical excerpts entitled Native American Autobiography: An Anthology designed for use in schools. Writing for an audience unfamiliar with the issues surrounding Native American autobiography, Krupat lays out a concise discussion of the field and its problems which he has explored in other works, most fully in For Those Who Come After: A Study of Native American Autobiography (1985). Briefly, Krupat notes that both the "auto" and "graph" elements of the genre pose problems when applied to traditional, indigenous cultures. Western autobiography, celebrating the autonomous individual pitted against and victorious over social and cultural obstacles, is alien to communal-based cultures of Native America. The western tradition of a sequential, cumulative narration of a life, as well as the written aspect of autobiography, also conflicted with the traditions of Native America. Indigenous people recorded important events orally, performatively, and dramatically to an audience, even pictographically; but alphabetic writing was not practiced by Native Americans, Krupat argues. This situation changed as Native people came into contact with "Euramerican invader-settlers," resulting in two genres of life stories that Krupat identifies as "autobiography by Indians"--narratives written by the story's subject him/herself--and "Indian autobiography"--narratives written by an outsider, usually white, about an individual Native American. Both forms require careful scrutiny for their context and subtext. Krupat has divided the anthology into seven sections. Except for Part One, the anthology moves chronologically from the eighteenth century to the present, tracing the development of Native American and white relations and the autobiographical texts which result from this intersection. Each section contains four to five excerpts from previously published life stories. Krupat prefaces each section with a discussion of historical and cultural aspects which influenced the creation of the texts represented and which also serve as an ordering principle for that section. Part Two, "The Christian Indians, from the Eighteenth Century to Indian Removal, 1830" focuses on the Indian reaction to the white settlers and their ultimate decision to become Christian in the face of Euramerican invasion. Christianized Indians provided some of the earliest written documents because they learned to read when converted by the Christian missionaries. Parts Three through Five, "The Resisting Indians, from Indian Removal to Wounded Knee, 1830-90," "The Closed Frontier, 1890-," and "The Anthropologist's Indians, 1900-" include narratives written against the backdrop of events like The Indian Removal Act, and the infamous Trail of Tears where, of the twelve thousand Cherokees forced to march west of the Mississippi, four thousand died along the way. The nineteenth century was characterized by Andrew Jackson's anti-Indian settlement, the famous figures Geronimo and Black Hawk, the Dawes Act disbanding the 138,000 acres of Indian land and reducing it to 48,000-55,000 acres of poor land, the Ghost Dance, the Wounded Knee Massacre, and the Census's now famous report which announced the "Closing of the American Frontier. …


—In this paper, we present an extension of the multi- criteria decision making based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) which incorporates uncertain knowledge matrices for generating basic belief assignments (bba's). The combination of priority vectors corresponding to bba's related to each (sub)- criterion is performed using the Proportional Conflict Redistribution rule no. 5 proposed in Dezert-Smarandache Theory (DSmT) of plausible and paradoxical reasoning. The method presented here, called DSmT-AHP, is illustrated on very simple examples.


Sustainable wildlife enterprises in remote Indigenous communities are an important source of economic development and employment whilst providing people with opportunities to continue their close connection with country and to maintain customary wildlife harvesting practices. Critical to the success of wildlife enterprises is recognition of the importance of both Indigenous ecological knowledge and western science in their design and implementation. This paper analyses the Indigenous ecological knowledge and western science underpinning the northern long-necked turtle and fledgling tarantula spider industries that have been established by the Djelk Rangers in the remote township of Maningrida in central Arnhem Land. The paper addresses issues of complementarity and conflict across both knowledge systems. The paper also examines the formal transmission of knowledge through education and training institutions as a means of developing employment pathways for young Indigenous people to work in wildlife enterprises.


In this paper, we propose a steganographic scheme based on Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) for prediction image and followed by Histogram shifting to embed secret data and obtain a stego image. The algorithm of PSO emulates from behavior of animals societies has been used by many applications of several problems. In this proposal, the optimal reference pixels are chosen and the prediction image is generated using PSO algorithm. Eventually, using the two selected groups of maxima points and minima points, the histogram of the error in prediction is shifted to embed the secret data reversibly. Since the same reference pixels can be exploited in the extraction procedure, the embedded secret bits can be extracted from the stego image correctly, and the cover image can be restored losslessly. The proposed scheme provides a better embedding rate and good visual quality when compared with recently used methods. Keywords— prediction image, steganography, Particle Swarm Optimization(PSO), histogram shifting,reversible data hiding.


We do not have a good measure of the effects of fiscal policy in a recession because the methods that we use to estimate the effects of fiscal policy -- both those using the observed outcomes following different policies in aggregate data and those studying counterfactuals in fitted model economies -- almost entirely ignore the state of the economy and estimate 'the' government multiplier, which is presumably a weighted average of the one we care about -- the multiplier in a recession -- and one we care less about -- the multiplier in an expansion. Notable exceptions to this general claim suggest this difference is potentially large. Our lack of knowledge stems significantly from the focus on linear dynamics: VARs and linearized (or close-to-linear) DSGEs. Our lack of knowledge also reflects a lack of data: deep recessions are few and nonlinearities hard to measure. The lack of statistical power in the estimation of nonlinear models using aggregate data can be addressed by exploiting estimates of partial-equilibrium responses in dissaggregated data. Microeconomic estimates of the partial-equilibrium causal effects of a policy can discipline the causal channels inherent in any DSGE model of the general equilibrium effects of policy. Microeconomic studies can also provide measures of the dependence of the effects of a policy on the states of different agents which is a key component of the dependence of the general-equilibrium effects of fiscal policy on the state of the economy.


The article shows the advantages of using modern electronic learning tools in the training of specialists for the mineral and raw materials complex and considers the basic principles of organizing training using these tools. The experience of using electronic learning tools using foreign teaching materials and involving foreign professors is described. A special attention is given to the electronic learning environment of the Cisco Networking Academy – Cisco NetAcad. The experience of teaching at the Networking Academy of the Saint-Petersburg Mining University is described. Details are given to modern virtual environments for laboratory work, such as Cisco Packet Tracer, GNS3 and Emulated Virtual Environment. The experience of using electronic learning technologies at the University of Economics of Bratislava is considered. It actively cooperates with a number of universities of other countries, such as the University of International Business (Almaty), the Eurasian National University named after LN Gumilyov (Astana) and the Institute of Social and Humanitarian Knowledge (Kazan).


The internal dynamics of powder systems under compression are as of yet not fully understood, and thus there is a necessity for approaches that can help in further clarifying and enhancing the level of understanding on this subject. To this end, the internal dynamics of powder systems under compression were probed by means of force distributions and a novel compaction equation.The determination of force distributions hinged on the use of carbon paper as a force sensor, where the imprints transferred from it onto white paper where converted through calibration into forces. Through analysis of these imprints, it was found that the absence of friction and bonding capacity between the particles composing the powder bed had no effect on how the applied load was transferred through the system. Additionally, it was found that pellet strength had a role to play in the homogeneity of force distributions, where, upon the occurrence of fracture, force distributions became less homogenous.A novel compaction equation was derived and tested on a series of systems composed of pellets with differing mechanical properties. The main value of the equation lay in its ability to predict compression behavior from single particle properties, and the agreement was especially good when a compact of zero porosity was formed.The utility of the equation was tested in two further studies, using a series of pharmaceutically relevant powder materials. It was established that the A parameter of the equation was a measure of the deformability of the powder material, much like the Heckel 1/K parameter, and can be used as a means to rank powders according to deformability, i.e. to establish plasticity scale. The equation also provided insights into the dominating compression mechanisms through an invariance that could be exploited to determine the point, at which the powder system became constrained, i.e. the end of rearrangement. Additionally, the robustness of the equation was demonstrated through fruitful analysis of a set of diverse materials.In summary, this thesis has provided insights and tools that can be translated into more efficient development and manufacturing of medicines in the form of tablets.


Regularizing metallic electrodeposition has been a long-standing challenge in energy storage. Leveraging mechanical stresses, solid ion conductors have been proposed to stabilize the evolving interface. Paradoxically softer electrodepositing metals are often found to form penetration fronts under the hypothesized stable conditions. We find that mechanical contributions to energy of the interacting species (i.e., metal and cation) relate to respective molar volumes. The stresses at the electrodepositing interface are correlated, and consequently, localized deposition is energetically favored for larger cationic molar volumes. Electrolyte stresses cause a stress-driven ionic flux away from compressed locations, which proves to be a stabilizing influence. Stability is found to be nonlinearly related to electrolyte stiffness. Material complexities such as interphases, interlayer, and grain boundaries are also examined to proffer guidelines for a stabilized growth.


Context awareness is a capability whereby mobile computing devices can sense their physical environment and adapt their behavior accordingly. The term context-awareness, in ubiquitous computing, was introduced by Schilit in 1994 and has become one of the most exciting concepts in early 21st-century computing, fueled by recent developments in pervasive computing (i.e. mobile and ubiquitous computing). These include computing devices worn by users, embedded devices, smart appliances, sensors surrounding users and a variety of wireless networking technologies. Context-aware applications use context information to adapt interfaces, tailor the set of application-relevant data, increase the precision of information retrieval, discover services, make the user interaction implicit, or build smart environments. For example: A context aware mobile phone will know that the user is currently in a meeting room, and reject any unimportant calls. One of the major challenges in providing users with context-aware services lies in continuously monitoring their contexts based on numerous sensors connected to the context aware system through wireless communication. A number of context aware frameworks based on sensors have been proposed, but many of them have neglected the fact that monitoring with sensors imposes heavy workloads on ubiquitous devices with limited computing power and battery. In this paper, we present CALEEF, a lightweight and energy efficient context aware framework for resource limited ubiquitous devices.


The knees of 20 patients with evidence of meniscal tears were examined via high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT); 10 of these were studied by MRI. The HRCT study was performed directly after double-contrast arthrography (AG). For comparison with HRCT, slice orientation for MRI examination was in transverse view; gradient echo sequences using the FISP technique were applied instead of spin echo sequences. All results were correlated to the arthroscopy (AS) findings. In 95% of the cases AG and AS results agreed, HRCT/AS in 85% and MRI/AS in 70%. In certain cases HRCT provided additional information which influenced appropriate surgical treatment. MRI is a noninvasive nonionising method but gives a less exact documentation of the lesion than AG and HRCT. The gradient echo mode is superior to the SE mode in respect of outlining meniscal structures, at least in transverse view.


ARTICLE 14 OF Iraq's new constitution, approved in a nationwide referendum held on October 15, states that Iraqis are equal before the law "without discrimination because of sex." Yet the constitution also states that no law can be passed that contradicts the "established rulings" of Islam. For this reason, the new document has been condemned by critics both inside and outside Iraq as a fundamental setback for a majority of Iraq's population-namely, its women. According to Isam al-Khafaji, an Iraqi scholar, the document "could easily deprive women of their rights." Yanar Muhammad, a leading secular activist and the head of the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq, worries that the Islamic provision will turn the country "into an Afghanistan under the Taliban, where oppression and discrimination of women is institutionalized." These criticisms are not without merit, and the ambiguity of the new constitution is a cause for concern. The centrality of Islamic law in the document, however, does not necessarily mean trouble for Iraqi women. In fact, sharia is open to a wide range of understanding, and across the Islamic world today, progressive Muslims are seeking to reinterpret its rules to accommodate a modern role for women. Iraq's constitution does not specify who will decide which version of Islam will prevail in the country's new legal system. But the battle has already begun. Victory by the progressives would have positive


Based on updated datasets of value added and of labour and capital inputs, this paper provides a reassessment of the proximate causes of Italy's economic development since its political unification in 1861 to 2016. Italy's pre-WWII economy featured weak productivity growth, with the exception of the Giolitti era and the 1920s. Italy then embarked on an exceptional catching-up process relative to the technological leaders during the Golden Age. Compared with the pre-WWII years, when the Italian economy was held back by slow productivity growth in the large agricultural sector, the catching-up process during the Golden Age was propelled by the rapid shift of labour out of agriculture. As in many countries, this rapid growth in productivity could not be sustained after 1973, but the further slowdown since the 1990s has been more pronounced in Italy than elsewhere. The disappointing performance of the Italian economy since the early 1990s is largely explained by slow labour productivity growth in the now dominant services sector and by sluggish aggregate total factor productivity. Labour productivity developments actually turned negative during the protracted crisis following the global financial turmoil, due to the decline in capital accumulation and in total factor productivity. Since the start of the recovery in 2013, while total factor productivity has returned to a moderately positive trend, the capital stock has not fully overcome the legacy of the crisis.


Explored self-reported parenting in a Hispanic sample of mothers living in the mainland United States using a cultural framework. Participants were 130 immigrant or first-generation Dominican and Puerto Rican mothers with a child between the ages of 2 and 6 years. Mothers completed questionnaires related to their parenting behavior and also filled out a detailed demographic form and a measure of acculturation. Results suggested that both Dominican and Puerto Rican mothers engage in high levels of praise and physical affection and low levels of harsh, inconsistent, and punitive parenting behaviors. Dominican and Puerto Rican parenting was similar on measures of authoritarian and permissive parenting, but differences emerged on a measure of authoritative parenting and when parenting was considered at the more detailed level of individual behaviors. Parenting was related to several demographic characteristics, including father's education level and child age; more specifically, higher paternal education and younger age of the child were related to higher levels of authoritative parenting by mothers. Parenting and acculturation were generally not related. Discussion focused on a culturally sensitive interpretation of normative parenting among Dominican and Puerto Rican mothers.


Research data management (RDM) is a complex problem, involving many stakeholders with different needs that give rise to diverse requirements and technical challenges. Metadata production is a not only a practical issue with a clear impact on data discovery and reuse but also a clear social challenge for RDM. As research funders press for Open Data in the EU and researchers become more aware of the benefits of RDM and data publication, there is an increasing need for institutional support for RDM both at the institutional level and at the EU level. In this exploratory study we report on five data publication case studies, where we involved researchers in the description and sharing of their datasets using our Dendro platform and the EUDAT's B2SHARE. The resulting metadata records combine generic and domain-specific metadata descriptors, highlighting the need to complement Dublin Core descriptions when it comes to metadata for research datasets.


In this paper, we present Bi-Modal Cache - a flexible stacked DRAM cache organization which simultaneously achieves several objectives: (i) improved cache hit ratio, (ii) moving the tag storage overhead to DRAM, (iii) lower cache hit latency than tags-in-SRAM, and (iv) reduction in off-chip bandwidth wastage. The Bi-Modal Cache addresses the miss rate versus off-chip bandwidth dilemma by organizing the data in a bi-modal fashion - blocks with high spatial locality a reorganized as large blocks and those with little spatial locality as small blocks. By adaptively selecting the right granularity of storage for individual blocks at run-time, the proposed DRAM cache organization is able to make judicious use of the available DRAM cache capacity as well as reduce the off chip memory bandwidth consumption. The Bi-Modal Cache improves cache hit latency despite moving the metadata to DRAM by means of a small SRAM based Way Locator. Further by leveraging the tremendous internal bandwidth and capacity that stacked DRAM organizations provide, the Bi-Modal Cache enables efficient concurrent accesses to tags and data to reduce hit time. Through detailed simulations, we demonstrate that the Bi-Modal Cache achieves overall performance improvement (in terms of Average Normalized Turnaround Time (ANTT)) of 10.8%, 13.8% and 14.0% in 4-core, 8-core and 16-coreworkloads respectively.


Astaxanthin (Asta) has been demonstrated to possess anti-inflammatory, antitumor, and free radical-clearing activities. However, the poor stability and low water solubility of Asta hamper its bioavailability. The objectives of this study were to fabricate Asta-loaded liposomes (Asta-lipo) and investigate the therapeutic effects of Asta-lipo on alcoholic liver fibrosis in mice. The mice were administered with Asta-lipo or liposomes alone prior to a 3-week dose containing 30% alcohol with or without feeding with a second dose of 30% alcohol. The prepared Asta-lipo of 225.0 ± 58.3 nm in diameter, had an encapsulation efficiency of 98%. A slow release profile of 16.2% Asta from Asta-lipo was observed after a 24-h incubation. Restorative actions against alcoholic liver fibrosis were observed after oral administration of Asta-lipo for 4 weeks. Hepatic repair, followed by a second dose of 30% alcohol, suggested that Asta-lipo exerted protective and reparative effects against liver injuries induced by repeated consumption of alcohol. The changes of serum ALT and AST values were principally in consistence with the histopathologic findings. Asta-lipo exerted rapid and direct effects against repeated alcohol-induced liver disease, whereas Asta-lipo given orally could boost recovery from liver injuries obtained due to previous long-term alcohol use. These data demonstrate that Asta-lipo has applicable protective and therapeutic potential to treat alcohol-induced liver diseases.


This study reports mild temperature hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of vanillin an oxygenated phenolic compound found in bio-oil to creosol. It investigates the sensitivity of vanillin HDO reaction to changes in solvent, catalyst support and active metal type, and processing parameters using 100mL batch reactor. The processing parameters considered include temperature (318K – 338K), hydrogen gas pressure (1MPa – 3 MPa), catalyst loading (0.1kg/m 3 – 0.5kg/m 3 ), and agitation speed (500rpm-900 rpm). As expected, significant variation in conversion and product selectivity was displayed in the results. Among the solvents considered, 2-propanol and ethyl acetate produced the best performance with conversion close to 100% and selectivity toward creosol above 90%. Remarkable differences were found in the H 2 uptake during VL HDO reaction under different catalyst. The hierarchy in H 2 uptake of the catalysts include: Pd/C > PdRh/Al 2 O 3 > Pd/Al 2 O 3 = Pt/C > Pt/SiO 2 >> Rh/Al 2 O 3 . This was correlated to catalytic performance; Pd/C emerged as the best among the monometallic catalysts with 71 % selectivity toward creosol, but consumed 9 mmol of hydrogen per mol of vanillin converted. While the prepared bimetallic PdRh/Al 2 O 3 catalyst consumed slightly lower amount of hydrogen (8 mmol), and produced significantly higher selectivity toward creosol (99%). Even after three cycles the prepared catalyst demonstrated superior performance over the monometallic catalysts with selectivity toward creosol above 80%. The reaction condition that maximises the degree of deoxygenation to creosol derived via Taguchi analysis includes temperature 338K, hydrogen gas partial pressure 3.0MPa, catalyst loading 0.5kg/m 3 , and agitation speed 500rpm.


Abstract. Dedicated biomass crops are required for future bioenergy production. However, the effects of large-scale land use change (LUC) from traditional annual crops, such as corn–soybean rotations to the perennial grasses (PGs) switchgrass and miscanthus, on soil microbial community functioning is largely unknown. Specifically, ecologically significant denitrifying communities, which regulate N2O production and consumption in soils, may respond differently to LUC due to differences in carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) inputs between crop types and management systems. Our objective was to quantify bacterial denitrifying gene abundances as influenced by corn–soybean crop production compared to PG biomass production. A field trial was established in 2008 at the Elora Research Station in Ontario, Canada (n  =  30), with miscanthus and switchgrass grown alongside corn–soybean rotations at different N rates (0 and 160 kg N ha−1) and biomass harvest dates within PG plots. Soil was collected on four dates from 2011 to 2012 and quantitative PCR was used to enumerate the total bacterial community (16S rRNA) and communities of bacterial denitrifiers by targeting nitrite reductase (nirS) and N2O reductase (nosZ) genes. Miscanthus produced significantly larger yields and supported larger nosZ denitrifying communities than corn–soybean rotations regardless of management, indicating large-scale LUC from corn–soybean to miscanthus may be suitable in variable Ontario climatic conditions and under varied management, while potentially mitigating soil N2O emissions. Harvesting switchgrass in the spring decreased yields in N-fertilized plots, but did not affect gene abundances. Standing miscanthus overwinter resulted in higher 16S rRNA and nirS gene copies than in fall-harvested crops. However, the size of the total (16S rRNA) and denitrifying bacterial communities changed differently over time and in response to LUC, indicating varying controls on these communities.


Pigeonpea is a nutritious legume crop that has the ability to fix nitrogen, grow on marginal lands and has multipurpose use for human consumption, animal feed and fuel. India is the largest producer and consumer of the crop. However, there is growing interest to produce the crop by other countries including the United States. The focus of this study was to examine the role of row spacing on yield. Using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) it was found that spacing affects yield. That is, the more the spacing the more the yield.


Risk is a central component of innovation and innovation is seen as essential to the improvement of public services. The UK government clearly believe that unless public sector services engage with the innovation agenda and find ways to incorporate innovation into the delivery of front line services, future performance will remain inefficient and ineffective. Whilst it recognises that balancing risks with responsibilities is a significant hurdle to be overcome, the positive bias found within the policy literature and tendency to view innovation as a good thing may belie the difficulties associated with implementation in a social work context. This paper draws upon research examining the implementation of four new models of practice covering different areas of social work in the UK and Australia, namely Family Conferencing, Direct Payments, NEWPIN and Intensive Family Based Services. Successful innovation requires organisations and individuals to engage in positive risk-taking, which, in many public service arenas, particularly a social work context, could present significant barriers. The paper explores the issues facing both individuals and organisations attempting to be innovative and examines what potential innovation has in this context to realise government ambition.


Hydrogen-powered airplanes have recently attracted a revitalized push in the aviation sector to combat CO2 emissions. However, to also reduce, or even eliminate, non-CO2 emissions and contrails, the combination of hydrogen with all-electric solutions is undoubtedly the best option to move toward the ambitious goal of climate-neutral aviation. Another important design choice is to store hydrogen cryogenically in its liquid form (LH2) to reduce space occupation compared to storage as compressed gas. However, the LH2 fuels cannot be utilized directly in fuel cells. It needs to be brought from liquid to a gas at about 350 K, where large amounts of heat must be added. Thus, a synergy can be made from this otherwise wasted cryogenic refrigeration power where superconducting machines (SCMs) and cold power electronics (CPE) are low-hanging fruits that could lead to radical space and weight reductions onboard the aircraft. These opportunities can be realized without having to pay the price, nor the volume occupation and mass needed for the cooling ability usually needed to achieve these extraordinary performances. In fact, this ground-breaking synergy makes cryogenic energy conversion relevant in a whole new way for aviation. The SCMs' more than five times higher power densities than their conventional counterparts are exceptionally significant. This article introduces the recently proposed cryo-electric drivetrain initiatives and explores the opportunities of using direct hydrogen cooling as a potential heating solution to enhance the overall performance and scalability of zero-emission propulsion systems in future regional aircraft.


The Farmers Field School (FFS) aims at benefiting poor farmers by improving their knowledge of existing agricultural technologies and integrated crop management to become independent and confident in their decision. The study on effect of farmer's field school on vegetables production before and after FFS implementation in district Peshawar in four selected villages on each crop in 2011 was conducted from 80 farmers. The results were compared by using paired t-test. It was observed that 80% of the respondents were satisfied with FFS approach as there was a significant increase in vegetable production. The seed rate of tomato and cucumber decreased from 0.185kg/kanal to 0.1 kg/ kanal and 0.120kg/kanal to 0.01kg/kanal while production of tomato and cucumber were increased from 8158.75kgs/kanal to 1030.25kgs/kanal and 3230kgs/kanal to 5340kgs/kanal, respectively after the activities of FFS. FFS brought a positive effect on vegetable production and technology adoption improving their income, skills and knowledge ultimately lead farmers towards empowerment. The input cost including seed, crop management, FYM, and weedicides for tomato were reduced by Rs.28, Rs. 3170 and Rs.658 and cucumber reduced by Rs.35, Rs.570 and Rs.430. Only fertilizers cost was increased by Rs. 2200 in case of tomato and 465 in case of cucumber. FFS facilitator and coordinator should be more skilled and practical oriented to facilitate poor farmers. In light of the above study, more FFS should be planned so that the more farmers should be benefited.


Benthic fluxes of dissolved nutrients and oxygen measured in the southern North Sea using ex situ incubation
chambers indicate a prominent annual cycle characterized by low level from mid-autumn (Oct) to early spring
(Mar) and enhanced values from mid-spring (Apr) to early autumn (Sep) with peak in late summer (late Aug/early
Sep). The same cycle is also shown in the budget of total organic carbon (TOC) and macrobenthic biomass in
surface sediments. The significant positive correlations between the benthic nutrient fluxes, oxygen, sedimentary
TOC and macrobenthos suggest that their variation might respond to a common source, i.e. the primary production. However, the linkages between these quantities and pelagic primary production, which exhibits a dominant
bloom in early spring (Mar/Apr) and a secondary bloom in early summer (Jun/Jul) in the study area, is not
straightforward.
We present a numerical study to unravel the complex linkages. A 3-D coupled hydrodynamic-biogeochemical
model (ECOSMO) was used to provide benthic boundary conditions for a 1-D biogeochemical model in the
sediment (TOCMAIM) that mechanistically resolves the interaction between macrobenthos and organic matter
through bioturbation. Simulation results based on a satisfactory hindcast from 1948 to 2015 reveal that although
the spring algal bloom normally starts in late winter (Feb) and peaks in early spring (Mar/Apr), deposition of labile
OC to seafloor is limited in this period due to energetic hydrodynamic conditions. Sedimentation and accumulation
of labile OC (originated from fresh planktonic detritus) in seafloor surface sediments are facilitated in summer
when wind-waves become weak enough. This drives the blooming of macrobenthos, with peak of biomass in late
summer (Aug). Bioturbation intensity, which is dependent upon macrobenthic biomass, community structure as
well as local food resource, peaks also in later summer. Enhanced bioturbation and benthic metabolism result in an
increased oxygen flux into sediments, promoting remineralization of OC and release of nutrients. The following
period (late Sep/Oct) is characterized by low level of pelagic primary production in combination with enhanced
wind-waves, which not only reduce the input of labile OC into sediments substantially but also remobilize surface
material (sediments and OC) on a major part of the shallow coastal seafloor. Depletion of labile OC in the
uppermost centimeters of sediments by a combined effect of erosion, macrobenthic uptake and downward mixing
(through bioturbation) accounts for the rapid decline of benthic nutrient fluxes in Oct, which remain low through
the stormy winter until the next spring.


Abstract In accordance with Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005, the applicant BASF SE submitted a request to the competent national authority in the United Kingdom to set import tolerances for the active substance fluxapyroxad for certain root crops and for coffee beans produced in the US and Brazil. The data submitted in support of the request were found to be sufficient to derive maximum residue level (MRL) proposals for the crops assessed. Adequate analytical methods for enforcement are available to control the residues of fluxapyroxad in the products concerned at the validated limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.01 mg/kg. Based on the risk assessment results, EFSA concluded that the short‐term and long‐term intake of residues resulting from the use of fluxapyroxad according to the reported agricultural practices is unlikely to present a risk to consumer health.


This study hypothesized a direct relationship among three verbal phenomena: derived relational responding, verbal intelligence, and worry. It also hypothesized that experiential avoidance would mediate the relationship between derived relational responding and worry. Overall, results from this study failed to support a relationship between worry and the other two verbal phenomena, however, results did support a relationship between derived relational responding and verbal intelligence. Additionally, results indicated a significant relationship between experiential avoidance and worry. Future research should clarify the relationship among the three primary variables of interest, improve measurement of these variables, be more sensitive to external validity, and promote the study of acceptance-based treatments that target experiential avoidance.


Various hexagonal ferrites, which include hard and soft ferrites, were prepared by citric complex method. High purity reagent of strontium carbonate, iron (III) nitrate ennnahydrate, cobalt (II) nitrate hexahydrate and lanthanum oxide were used as starting materials. Prepared aqueous solution was heated for dehydration and gelling. Thermal pyrolysis was carried out by heating the gel. The obtained precursor powders were ground with an alumina mortar and compacted by uniaxial pressing into disk specimens and then heated at temperature range between 1023K and 1523K in air. Phase identification and determination of lattice parameters were carried out by powder X-ray diffraction. Scanning Electron Microscope was utilized to investigate the microstructure of the polycrystalline ferrites. Magnetic properties were discussed by magnetization measurements by using a vibration sample magnetometer. Magnetization and coercive force were measured. In the case of M-type ferrite, M-type barium and strontium ferrites were formed at vary low temperature relative to by conventional synthesis. The lanthanum and cobalt substituted M-type strontium ferrite ultra fine powders prepared by citric complex method showed extremely large coercive force.


Mafic eruptions, which are typically effusive to mildly explosive, can produce much stronger explosive eruptions.
 Eruption style is determined by the ability of gas to escape through the permeable network. If the permeability is
 sufficiently high to reduce vesicle overpressure during ascent, the volatiles may escape from the magma, inhibiting
 violent explosive activity. In contrast, if the permeability is sufficiently low to retain the gas phase within the magma
 during ascent, bubble overpressure may drive magma fragmentation. Rapid ascent rates may induce disequilibrium crystallization,
 increasing viscosity and explosivity, and have consequences for the geometry of the vesicle network. Quantitative vesicle
 texture analyses are commonly measured in 2D. However, 2D vesicle analyses do not provide sufficient information about the
 internal vesicle structures for permeability analysis. Here we use synchrotron X-ray computed microtomography of 10 pyroclasts
 from the 12.6 ka mafic Curacautín Ignimbrite (Llaima Volcano, Chile) to reconstruct and quantify pyroclast textures in three
 dimensions. Our goal is to obtain 3D measurements of porosity, bubble interconnectivity, bubble number density, and
 geometrical properties of the porous media to investigate the role of magma degassing processes at mafic explosive eruptions.
 We use an analytical technique to estimate permeability and tortuosity by combing empirical relationships and pyroclasts
 vesicle textures. We identified two populations of vesicles: (1) a convoluted connected vesicle network produced by
 extensive coalescence of smaller vesicles (> 99% of pore space), and (2) a population of very small and completely
 isolated vesicles (< 1% of porosity network). Bubble numbe2r density measurements are 1-29×103 bubbles
 per mm3, implying an average decompression rate of 1.4 MPa/s under heterogeneous nucleation. We computed tortuosities
 factor between 1.89 and 4.4, with higher values in the less vesicular samples. Permeability ranges are
 between 3×10-13 and 6.27×10-12 m2. 3D vesicle textures evidence rapid ascent
 rates that induced high disequilibrium, promoting rapid syn-eruptive crystallization of microlites and late vesiculation.
 We propose that the increase in viscosity due to crystallization and vesiculation, combined with rapid ascent, inhibited
 outgassing and increased bubble overpressures, leading to explosive fragmentation. We estimated that a bubble overpressure
 greater than 5.2 MPa could have been sufficient to fragment the Curacautín magma. Other mafic explosive eruptions report
 similar disequilibrium conditions induced by rapid ascent rate, implying that syn-eruptive disequilibrium may control the
 explosivity of mafic eruptions more generally.


Modelling of partial discharge (PD) events allows a better understanding of the phenomena itself. In this work, an improved model representing PD behaviour within a spherical cavity in a homogeneous dielectric material has been developed to study the influence of cavity surface charge distribution on the electric field distribution in the cavity and the material. Comparison of measurement and simulation results has been undertaken to validate the model.


Self‐report scales for mindfulness are now widely used in applied settings, and have made a contribution to research, for instance in demonstrating mediation effects. To date there are no convincing data as to whether mindfulness skills generalise fully across life domains, and so some researchers have developed mindfulness scales for particular domains of behaviour. We present the development of a self‐report scale to measure mindfulness with respect to eating behaviours. A previous measure, the Mindful Eating Questionnaire, whilst possessing good psychometric properties, does not agree well with standard definitions of mindfulness or possess a factor structure similar to well‐researched generic mindfulness scales. We developed an item pool based on items drawn from popular generic measures of mindfulness and the resultant questionnaire was completed by 127 university students (77.2% female, M age 25.65 years, SD age 8.89 years). An exploratory factor analysis yielded six factors: acceptance, awareness, non‐reactivity, act with awareness, routine, and unstructured eating. The factors correlated in the expected direction with existing measures of mindfulness (.113 < r < .522), acceptance (.052 < r < .325), and eating disorder symptoms (‐.629 < r < ‐.056). We anticipate that this measure will be of use in the further development of mindfulness‐based interventions for eating disorders and obesity.


de casos; adiposo; Lipoma; Neoplasias de tecido conjuntivo e de tecidos moles; Procedimentos cirúrgicos reconstrutivos. Introduction: Giant lipomas (>1000g), although rare, have relevant importance, as they can affect any region of the body and are diagnosed in advanced stages, in which there is functional impairment. They can also be confused with malignant soft tissue neoplasms. Furthermore, the natural history of the emergence and evolution of giant lipomas is still not exactly known, which justifies further studies. The current study aims to present the results of the surgical treatment of a case of giant lipoma. Case Report: Case report that occurred in the plastic surgery service of the Roberto Santos Hospital in Salvador, Bahia, in the year 2016. A 62-year-old male farmer, 1.80 m tall, 74 kg, with a dorsal tumor measuring 35 cm in diameter, evaluated through clinical history and computed tomography examination and submitted to elliptical excision and plastic closure in W. There were no postoperative complications. Histopathology confirmed the diagnosis of giant lipoma (2881g). Post-surgical results were considered excellent by the patient and surgical team. Conclusion: The giant lipoma was satisfactorily removed without complications, with excellent functional and aesthetic results. ABSTRACT


One of the most important milestones in the development of theory of mind is the understanding of false beliefs. This study compares children's understanding of representational change and others' false beliefs and evaluates the effectiveness of an appearance-reality training for improving children's false belief understanding. A total of 78 children ranging in age from 41 to 47 months were trained in three sessions and evaluated in a pretest and in a posttest. The results show that for children it is easier to understand representational change than false beliefs in others, and that the improvement after training was greater when starting from a higher score in the pretest. The implications of this for training in false belief understanding are discussed


While human trafficking is becoming increasingly recognized as a critical issue on various levels, little research exists that measures the understanding and perceptions of university students about the issue. Previous research has emphasized the need for increased education for the general public about human trafficking, as ordinary citizens serve an important role in the identification and notification of human trafficking activity (Logan, Walker, & Hunt, 2009). Additionally, research exploring the perceptions and understanding of university students surrounding sexual violence has shown the positive effects that education about sexual violence can have on university students' willingness to intervene and address this issue (Banyard, 2008; Banyard, Moynihan, & Plante, 2007; McMahon, 2010). These previous findings suggest the important role of education and skill-building for university students in working to prevent and combat human trafficking, especially in regards to understanding, identification, and intervention. This research aims to measure the current level of university students' knowledge and skills surrounding human trafficking issues. University student participants completed a quantitative online questionnaire that evaluated their knowledge, skills, behavior, and beliefs surrounding human trafficking issues. One construct of the research interpreted student responses to Likert-type scale and multiple choice questions into varying levels of knowledge and skills. This data suggests that university students have mainly low and medium levels of knowledge and skills related to the nature, prevalence, and identification of human trafficking, with exceptional instances of high levels. These results emphasize the need for increased understanding and consistent education about human trafficking issues among university students. The results also showed the need for greater knowledge about the incidence and prevalence of human trafficking on the local level, more effective training on human trafficking identification and referral skills, and a better understanding of what actions students can take to support businesses and organizations that work to fight human trafficking.


This investigation examined the effects of providing choices among homework assignments on motivation and subsequent academic performance. Students were randomly assigned within classrooms either to receive a choice of homework options or to be assigned an option for all homework in one instructional unit. Conditions were reversed for a second instructional unit. Results revealed that when students received a choice of homework they reported higher intrinsic motivation to do homework, felt more competent regarding the homework, and performed better on the unit test compared with when they did not have a choice. In addition, a trend suggested that having choices enhanced homework completion rates compared with when no choices were given. In a second analysis involving the same students, the importance of perceived provision of choice was examined in the context of student perceptions of their teachers' support for autonomy more broadly defined. Survey data showed that the relationship between perceptions of receiving autonomy support from teachers and intrinsic motivation for schoolwork could be fully accounted for by students' perceptions of receiving choices from their teachers. The limitations and implications of the study for research and practice are discussed.


The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 Item (PHQ-9) and Beck Depression Inventory–II (BDI-II) are frequently used measures of depression severity, but little is known about their relative psychometric properties. The authors assessed psychometric properties of both measures during treatment for depression. The PHQ-9 and BDI-II scores from 172 depressed participants in two randomized controlled trials of treatment for depression were assessed and combined. Tests of internal consistency (Cronbach's α), factor analyses, correlational analyses, estimates of clinically significant change, and effect sizes (Cohen's d) were calculated after treatment and follow-up. Both scales demonstrated adequate internal consistency at pre- and posttreatment (PHQ-9 α = .74 and .81; BDI-II α = .87 and .90, respectively). Factor analysis failed to confirm the one-factor model previously reported for the PHQ-9, but two factors evidenced good fit for the BDI-II. Both scales converged more with each other than with the Sheehan Disability Scale at pre- but not at posttreatment. Responsiveness to change of PHQ-9 and BDI-II was similar at both posttreatment and follow-up. The consistency of agreement on indices of clinical significance was fair to moderate, but the BDI-II categorised a greater proportion of participants with severe depression than the PHQ-9. The BDI-II and PHQ-9 demonstrated adequate reliability, convergent/discriminant validity, and similar responsiveness to change. Differences were found in how they categorised severity. Pending the results of further studies, the attributes of the PHQ-9, of being shorter and based on the diagnostic criteria for depression, may indicate an advantage over the BDI-II.


Abstract Confirmation that Soft-plumaged Petrels, Pterodroma mollis, breed in Australia was made at Maatsuyker Island, Tasmania, on 12 December 2001 when the first of six burrows containing incubating birds was found. The Soft-plumaged Petrel population is considered to be very small as only low numbers of adults were heard calling or observed flying at night and, despite extensive searches, only six nests were found. Monitoring during the 2001–02 and the 2002–03 breeding seasons indicated that laying occurred from mid-December and fledging from late April. It may be that small numbers of Soft-plumaged Petrels have always bred on Maatsuyker Island but, owing to their nocturnal and burrow-nesting lifestyle and the presence of large populations of other burrowing seabird species, they were undetected. Conversely, this discovery may be of a new colonisation or re-colonisation of Maatsuyker Island. There is a lack of consensus and clarity regarding the subspecies of Soft-plumaged Petrels and it is currently not possible to conclude which subspecies is breeding on Maatsuyker Island. Walker Island and Flat Witch Islands, both within 2 km of Maatsuyker Island, were also surveyed for Soft-plumaged Petrel burrows but none was found.


Three major types of cardiomyopathies affect adolescents: dilated, hypertrophic, and restrictive. At the present time the etiologies of the majority of these cardiomyopathies in children remain elusive. Treatment of these diseases is generally directed toward improving symptoms, survival, myocardial performance, and hemodynamics. Most treatment strategies are extrapolated from studies in adults with these types of cardiomyopathies, although prospective, randomized therapeutic trials are currently underway in children. All three types of cardiomyopathy can be associated with a wide range of symptoms (from none to severe) and also are associated with sudden death. For those in whom medical management fails, heart transplantation is a therapeutic option with an excellent intermediate-term success rate.


This study examined, from a Terror Management Theory (TMT) perspective, the effects of death reminders on the tendency to take risks in diving. All participants (N = 124) completed Rosenberg's self-esteem scale and a diving related self-efficacy questionnaire. Then half of them were exposed to a mortality salience induction and the other half to the control condition. The dependent variable was self-reported intentions to take risks in diving. Findings showed that mortality salience led to greater willingness to take risks in diving vs. control condition, but only among divers with low self-esteem and low diving related self-efficacy. In addition, mortality salience led to less willingness to take risks in diving vs. the control condition only for low self-esteem divers who possessed high diving related self-efficacy. However, no effects were found for high self-esteem persons. The results are discussed in view of the self-enhancing mechanisms proposed by TMT, offering practical implications regarding the...


TiC particulate reinforced Fe matrix composite compacts with controlled interfacial reaction was processed by spark plasma sintering after mechanical alloying. Milled powders were fabricated for 1-5 hours by spex shaker mill with the ball to powder ratio of 25:2. Metal matrix composites (MMCs) based on the Fe-40%TiC system can be synthesized by spark plasma sintering of the D'AE powders with TiH2-graphite powders under vacuum in the temperature range 1273-1473K for 5-20 min. TiC phase was formed by self combustion reaction with temperature increase. The specimen that was formed by sintering Fe-TiC powders displayed a microstructure of uniformly dispersed TiC grain in a continuous metal matrix. The densifications of the TiC-Fe materials were increased as the heat-treatment holding time increasing. In the same time, relative density and hardness of TiC-Fe sintering materials was increased.


Next-generation sequencing (NGS) or high-throughput sequencing platforms refers to different modern sequencing technologies that allow scientist to sequence millions to billions of reads (base pairs) in a single, much more quicker and cheaper cost than the previously used Sanger (first generation) sequencing method. Next-generation sequencing platforms classified as second generation sequencing platforms which require polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and third generation sequencing platforms which do not require PCR amplification for sequence. The appearance of next generation sequencing technologies has revolutionized the genome sequencing of organisms including farm animals. These platforms enable scientists to access latest and detailed information about genetic markers that are responsible for economically important traits. Identification of candidate genes responsible for these traits in different species can bring down the overall cost of livestock breeding by improving productivity and disease resistance. Even though the output and error rate of third generation sequencing platforms (Pacific Biosystems and Nanopore) remain to be improved, they offered long read length relatively with cheaper sequencing cost and easy sample preparation. Oxfored NanoporeMinION devices are the most portable third generation DNA sequencer available in the size of a small cell phone that can be plugged into the USB of a laptop.

 Key words: Oxford nanopore, single nucleotide polymorphisms, third-generation.


Endothelial cell (EC) apoptosis may play an important role in blood vessel development, homeostasis and remodelling. In support of this concept, EC apoptosis has been detected within remodelling vessels in vivo, and inactivation of EC apoptosis regulators has caused dramatic vascular phenotypes. EC apoptosis has also been associated with cardiovascular pathologies. Therefore, understanding the regulation of EC apoptosis, with the goal of intervening in this process, has become a current research focus. The protein-based signalling and cleavage cascades that regulate EC apoptosis are well known. However, the possibility that programmed transcriptome and glycome changes contribute to EC apoptosis has only recently been explored. Traditional bioinformatic techniques have allowed simultaneous study of thousands of molecular signals during the process of EC apoptosis. However, to progress further, we now need to understand the complex cause and effect relationships among these signals. In this article, we will first review current knowledge about the function and regulation of EC apoptosis including the roles of the proteome transcriptome and glycome. Then, we assess the potential for further bioinformatic analysis to advance our understanding of EC apoptosis, including the limitations of current technologies and the potential of emerging technologies such as gene regulatory networks.


Objective: To describe the association of specific medication classes with driving outcomes and provide clinical recommendations. Data Sources: The MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched for articles published from January 1973 to June 2013 on classes of medications associated with driving impairment. The search included outcome terms such as automobile driving, motor vehicle crash, driving simulator, and road tests. Study Selection and Data Extraction: Only English-language articles that contained findings from observational or interventional designs with ≥ 10 participants were included in this review. Cross-sectional studies, case series, and case reports were excluded. Data Synthesis: Driving is an important task and activity for the majority of adults. Some commonly prescribed medications have been associated with driving impairment measured by road performance, driving simulation, and/or motor vehicle crashes. This review of 30 studies identified findings with barbiturates, benzodiazepines, hypnotics, antidepressants, opioid and nonsteroidal analgesics, anticonvulsants, antipsychotics, antiparkinsonian agents, skeletal muscle relaxants, antihistamines, anticholinergic medications, and hypoglycemic agents. Additional studies of medication impact on sedation, sleep latency, and psychomotor function, as well as the role of alcohol, are also discussed. Conclusions: Psychotropic agents and those with central nervous system side effects were associated with measures of impaired driving performance. It is difficult to determine if such associations are actually a result of medication use or the medical diagnosis itself. Regardless, clinicians should be aware of the increased risk of impaired driving with specific classes of medications, educate their patients, and/or consider safer alternatives.


Despite the growing interest in the field of social entrepreneurship education, this sub-field remains under-theorised. In this paper we demonstrate the value of engaging with Bourdieu's theory of capitals in examining the social entrepreneurship education sub- field and generate empirical insights to the subject by illuminating the interrelationships between the disciplinary roots, key pillars of education programmes and associated pedagogical content and strategies. Drawing on the above, we offer a 'reflexive' approach to the study of social entrepreneurship education, which acknowledges the importance of learning processes involved in developing multiple forms of capital and transforming them to each other in the pursuit of educational goals . This reflexive framework has implications for future inter-disciplinary research and social entrepreneurship education practice.


Reproduction and childbirth in the early modern era have sometimes been represented as a uniquely feminine experience. Similarly, studies of domestic medicine have in the past overlooked the role that men played in domestic health care practices. This article builds on recent work that resituates men within both of these discourses by considering the ways in which men understood, discussed, and responded to the threat and occurrence of miscarriage in the women they knew. It considers a range of medical literature, spiritual diaries, and letters to illustrate that men were a central feature of many women's experiences of miscarriage.


Abstract This paper is a call for better indicators of human well-being in nations around the world. We critique the inappropriate use of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a measure of national well-being, something for which it was never designed. We also question the idea that economic growth is always synonymous with im-proved well-being. Useful measures of progress and well-being must be measures of the degree to which society's goals (i.e., to sustainably provide basic human needs for food, shelter, freedom, participation, etc.) are met, rather than mea-sures of the mere volume of marketed economic activity, which is only one means to that end. Various alternatives and complements to GDP are discussed in terms of their motives, objectives, and limitations. Some of these are revised measures of economic activity while others measure changes in community capital—natu-ral, social, human, and built—in an attempt to measure the extent to which development is using up the principle of community capital rather than living off its interest. We conclude that much useful work has been done; many of the alternative indicators have been used successfully in various levels of community planning. But the continued misuse of GDP as a measure of well-being neces-sitates an immediate, aggressive, and ongoing campaign to change the indica-tors that decision makers are using to guide policies and evaluate progress. We need indicators that promote truly sustainable development—development that improves the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of the supporting ecosystems. We end with a call for consensus on appropriate new measures of progress toward this new social goal.


In a blind trial, alternate calves in six consecutive production batches of calves (total 70), on a farm with a high incidence of respiratory and reproductive disease, were allocated to treatment with either valnemulin or a placebo premix added to the milk from four days of age. The calves were weighed at the beginning and end of a 21-day period of medication. Blood samples and nasal swabs were taken and examined for the presence of Mycoplasma and Pasteurella species, and antibodies to viral agents. Clinical condition, rectal temperature, respiratory and other signs and refusals of milk were recorded daily. Dead calves were examined postmortem. The calves medicated with valnemulin gained weight more quickly, had fewer cases of Mycoplasma infection and fewer respiratory signs, and required fewer treatments with antibiotics than those in the placebo group.


The use of the recreational drug crystal methamphetamine among younger homosexual men is expanding, and with it, unsafe sex behaviors that increase the transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This article reviews available literature on the medical and psychiatric morbidities associated with methamphetamine abuse in HIV-infected patients. Medical complications include hypertension, hyperthermia, rhabdoymyolysis, and stroke. One fatal case of ingestion of methamphetamine with HIV medication has been documented. Two fatal cases of ingestion of HIV medication with the amphetamine analogue n-methyl-3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, or "ecstasy") have also been reported. Some molecular researchers suggest that dopaminergic systems are vulnerable to the combined neurotoxicity of HIV infection and methamphetamine. Population surveys indicate high rates of HIV infection among methamphetamine abusers and high rates of unprotected anal intercourse during drug intoxication. Intoxication can sometimes produce paranoia, auditory hallucinations, and, occasionally, violent behavior. Amphetamine withdrawal commonly results in symptoms of depression. Methamphetamine is a new challenge related to treatment and prevention of HIV infection.


This paper presents an investigation on rheological properties of a new ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene)-Iron composite for application in Fused Deposition Modelling rapid prototyping process. Test samples of ABS-Iron composites have been made by controlled centrifugal mixing and thermal compounding through a single-screw extruder and compression moulding. Rheological characterization was conducted using a capillary rheometer by measuring pressure drop at the die while varying the extrusion speed. Apparent shear rate and shear stress as well as viscosity of the melts were calculated. Modulated differential-scanning calorimetry (MDSC) techniques were used in order to characterize viscoelastic properties of these newly developed composites materials. Non-Newtonian behaviour of the composite melt has shown to follow a cross model of shear thinning characteristics.


In this paper, the problem of clock synchronization is analyzed based on the two-way message exchange mechanism. In order to estimate the clock offset and the clock skew with unknown fixed delay, the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) and a low-complexity estimator are proposed. Furthermore, their corresponding performance limits and complexities are analyzed. It is found that the MLE achieves the best performance with the price of high complexity, while the newly proposed estimator achieves the same performance as the MLE with low complexity.


Telomere length has garnered interest due to the potential role it may play as a biomarker for the cellular aging process. Telomere measurements obtained from blood-derived DNA are often used in epidemiological studies. However, the invasive nature of blood draws severely limits sample collection, particularly with children. Buccal cells are commonly sampled for DNA isolation and thus may present a non-invasive alternative for telomere measurement. Buccal and leukocyte derived DNA obtained from samples collected at the same time period were analyzed for telomere repeat mass (TRM). TRM was measured in buccal-derived DNA samples from individuals for whom previous TRM data from blood samples existed. TRM measurement was performed by qPCR and was normalized to the single copy 36B4 gene relative to a reference DNA sample (K562). Correlations between TRM from blood and buccal DNA were obtained and also between the same blood DNA samples measured in separate laboratories. Using the classical twin design, TRM heritability was estimated (N = 1892, MZ = 1044, DZ = 775). Buccal samples measured for TRM showed a significant correlation with the blood-1 (R = 0.39, p < 0.01) and blood-2 (R = 0.36, p < 0.01) samples. Sex and age effects were observed within the buccal samples as is the norm within blood-derived DNA. The buccal, blood-1, and blood-2 measurements generated heritability estimates of 23.3%, 47.6% and 22.2%, respectively. Buccal derived DNA provides a valid source for the determination of TRM, paving the way for non-invasive projects, such as longitudinal studies in children.


These guidelines have been developed to describe procedures for predicting the dietary intake of pesticide residues, and will assist national authorities in their considerations of the acceptability of the Codex maximum residue limits (MRLs). The relevant authorities are invited to consider the basic approaches described in these guidelines, which have been designed to provide reasonable assurance that such MRLs would not result in dietary intakes that exceed the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of a pesticide.


Satellite-terrestrial networks (STNs) have received significant attention from research and industry due to their capability of providing a stable connection to rural and distant areas, where the allocation of terrestrial infrastructures is uneconomical or difficult. Moreover, the STNs are considered as a promising enabler of fifth-generation communication networks. However, expected massive connectivity in future communication networks will face issues associated with spectrum scarcity. In this regard, the integration of cognitive radio and non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) techniques into STNs is considered as a promising remedy. Thereafter, in this article, we investigate NOMA-assisted cognitive STN under practical system conditions, such as transceiver hardware impairments, channel state information mismatch, imperfect successive interference cancellation, and interference noises. Generalized coverage probability formulas for NOMA users in both primary and secondary networks are derived considering the impact of interference temperature constraint and its correctness is verified through Monte Carlo simulation. Furthermore, to achieve performance fairness among the users, power allocation factors based on coverage fairness for primary and secondary NOMA users are provided. Moreover, the numerical results demonstrate superior performance compared to the ones obtained from an orthogonal multiple access scheme and examine the imperfection's impact on the system performance in terms of coverage and throughput.


In this thesis, the design of a high intensity accumulator ring for the European Spallation Source Neutrino Super Beam (ESSnuSB) is considered. The European Spallation Source (ESS) linear accelerator (Linac), presently being constructed in Lund, Sweden, presents an interesting opportunity to also host an experiment to detect neutrino CP violation. 0.7 ms long H- pulses would be accelerated to 2 GeV and collide with a target, producing pions which then decay into neutrinos. To focus the pions a toroidal magnet (''neutrino horn'') is pulsed with a 350 kA current. The peak current is about 5 μs long, which requires the H- pulses to be shortened to about the same length using an accumulator ring that is located between the linac and the target. The H- would be stripped of their electrons using either a thin carbon foil or a laser beam during injection into the ring. Foil stripping is limited by the lifetime of the foil, which depends on the temperature to which it is heated by the beam. The temperature is simulated in a computer model and the results indicate that it does not rise above the critical temperature (2500 K). The high number of protons (1015) circulating in the ring could cause instabilities due to the collective charge of the particles, known as the space charge effect. The space charge tune shift is calculated for the ESSnuSB and different solutions are discussed. The result of a design accumulator lattice for the ESSnuSB, based on the Spallation Neutron Source, at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee, U.S., and made using the computer program Methodical Accelerator Design (MAD), is presented.


Prior research has identified five barriers hindering disabled persons' access to microcredit: exclusion by staff; exclusion by non-disabled members of credit groups; self-exclusion; exclusion by credit design; and exclusion by the disability itself. This study applies survey data to examine which barriers disabled persons themselves consider to be the most important in Uganda. The survey covers disabled persons with some kind of existing economic activity and is thus not representative of all disabled persons in the country. The data show that exclusion by credit design is the most relevant obstacle from the perspective of the disabled person. The study suggests that microfinance institutions (MFIs) should revise their credit products and make them more disability-friendly to reach out to more disabled customers. These disability-friendly products may also help the MFI to reach other poor and discriminated groups.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE We investigated prognostic factors and survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in North-Germany. Established staging systems (Child-Pugh, Okuda and UICC classification) were compared with new prognostic scores from Italy (CLIP) and Spain (BCLC). PATIENTS AND METHODS The clinical course of 62 consecutive patients (34-82 years, 48 males, 14 females) with HCC observed in the Medical School of Hannover from October 1996 to September 1998 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were classified according to the staging systems of Child Pugh, Okuda, UICC, CLIP and BCLC. Follow-up ended on December 31 (st) 2001. RESULTS Overall median survival was 11,3 (1 - 59,5) months. At univariate analysis (log-rank test) Okuda, UICC, CLIP and BCLC Score were each associated with a shorter survival. In contrast Child Pugh score provided no significant prognostication. By multiple regression analysis (Cox regression analysis), only the CLIP and UICC score and chronic hepatitis B infection were shown to be independent risk factors. CONCLUSION Our investigations indicate, that the CLIP and UICC classifications identified those patients with the best prognosis and they, as well as chronic hepatitis C, were shown to be independent risk factors.


Taxonomy is generally considered a synonym of systematics and is traditionally divided into classification, nomenclature and identification, the process of determining whether an unknown organism belongs to one of the units defined. The new taxonomies are based on a polyphasic approach using phenotypical characters together with multigene DNA sequences. The term "polyphasic" taxonomy described the integration of all available genotypic, phenotypic, and phylogenetic information into a consensus type of classification. These information can be used to classify fungi belong to the genus Aspergillus. Over the years, many different molecular methods have been developed for Aspergillus strain typing and to investigate the epidemiological relation between environmental and clinical isolates. Several typing methods have been described for Aspergillus species: restriction fragment lenght polymorphisms (RFLP), Random Amplification Polymorphic DNA (RAPD), Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP), Multilocus sequenze typing (MLST) and Random amplified microsatellites (RAMS). The advantages and disavantages of the different typing techniques are evaluated in terms of their discriminatory power, reproducibility and exchangeability, applicability, easy of use, and interpretation.


The current "Energy Crisis" has dramatically increased our potential need for coal, the worlds most abundant fossil fuel. This will probably lead to a greater use of automation and instrumentation in the coal mining industry. The presence of methane in coal mines and in the coal itself plus the presence of coal dust, both of which can form an explosive atmosphere in air, means that the possibility of a gas or coal dust ignition must be considered when designing, purchasing and installing new equipment in this industry. In addition, many metallurgical processes involve the use of potentially explosive substances against which similar safety precautions must be taken. This paper outlines the various methods of protection currently in use and proposed for electrical instruments in explosive atmospheres, with particular emphasis on the work of the International Electrotechnical Commission. Language: en


In this paper an iterative method for semi-blind MIMO channel identification and tracking is presented. The method is based on results from information geometry; specifically, the alternating projections theorem first proved by Csiszar, which provides a rigorous iterative method for stochastic maximum likelihood estimation. It is demonstrated that the proposed method has similar performance compared to a recently reported method based on the expectation maximization (EM) algorithm. In addition to having a complete analytical solution, the proposed algorithm avoids the complex multidimensional integrations usually found necessary in similar EM-type methods. The result is a much faster implementation.


The family of double perovskites first received attention in the 1960s, but the discovery of low field magnetoresistnace (LFMR) and half metallicity of the Sr 2 FeMoO6 (SFMO) compound was made by Kobayashi et al. in 1998. A fully spin polarized half-metal SFMO (Tc > 400) with excellent magnetoresistance response relatively at small applied fields and high temperatures makes SFMO an ideal candidate for room temperature spintronics applications. Primarily, most of the research work on double perovskites SFMO has been focused on bulk ceramic samples and aimed to understand their structural, magnetic, and magnetotransport properties, along with correlation among them. A material such as SFMO that exhibits a large decrease in resistivity and magnetically order well above room temperature is necessary for the advancement of spintronic devices. If the bulk properties observed could be reproduced in thin films, industrially produced SFMO-based spintronic devices could become a reality. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to present the detailed background and descriptions of the double perovskite Sr 2 FeMoO6 (SFMO) thin films and heterostructures with main emphasis to improve or achieve room temperature magnetoresistance properties especially for room temperature magnetoresistive device applications.


1 Tassinari CA, Michelucci R, Genton P, Pellissier JF, Roger J. Dyssynergia cerebellaris myoclonica (Ramsay Hunt syndrome): a condition unrelated to mitochondrial encephalomyopathies. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1989;52:262-5. 2 Hunt JR. Dyssynergia cerebellaris myoclonica-primary atrophy of the dentate system: a contribution to the pathology and symptomatology of the cerebellum. Brain 1921;44:490-538. 3 Harding AE. Ramsay Hunt syndrome, Unverricht-Lundborg disease, or what? Movement Disorders 1989;4:18-9. 4 Koskiniemi M, Donner M, Majuri H, Haltia M, Norio R. Progressive myoclonus epilepsy: clinical and histopathological study. Acta Neurol Scand 1974;50:307-32. 5 Koskiniemi M, Toivakka E, Donner M. Progressive myoclonus epilepsy: electroencephalographic findings. Acta Neurol Scand 1974;50:333-59.


The United Nations has had a central place in Irish foreign policy from the state's
accession in 1955. Both political discourse and public opinion polls indicate
widespread support for the organisation as a source of international legitimacy and
as the appropriate forum to make major decisions regarding peace and security;
international human rights; and development. The EU has an equally central role in
Ireland's economic and social development in the last three decades, and while there
is no significant opposition to EU membership, recent referenda on the EU Treaties
of Nice and Lisbon were defeated on the first attempts, highlighting opposition to
some aspects of recent EU integration processes.
This chapter begins with a brief examination of the first White Paper on foreign policy
in the history of the state, published in 1996, as a means of looking at some of the
long running context for Irish Foreign policy priorities.1 It then explores Ireland's
recent relationship with the EU focusing on the referenda on the Lisbon Treaty and finishes with an analysis of Ireland's engagement with the United Nations, including
its last period on the security council in 2001-2.


Individuals with extravesical extension of bladder cancer (stage T3b) have a worse prognosis than those with muscle-invasive disease confined to the bladder. Accurate staging of T3b bladder cancer becomes increasingly important as more effective methods of treating high-stage bladder cancer are developed. Despite aggressive attempts over the last three decades to stage muscle invasive disease more accurately, bladder cancer is still staged incorrectly in 30% to 50% of patients. The basis for accurate clinical staging resides in a thorough endoscopic resection and a careful bimanual examination. Imaging studies (transurethral ultrasonography, computed tomography [CT], and magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] can increase the accuracy of staging but are most reliable when performed before transurethral resection.


Improving the situation of faecal sludge management is an urgent issue in all the rapidly growing towns across Bangladesh where there is no sewerage system. Simply improving access to sanitation will not lead to health benefits unless the sludge is safely dealt with. This paper reports on the findings of a situation analysis on FSM in Faridpur Town carried out in 2014. It goes on to outline the solution which will be implemented in the next three years with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This solution aims to create a city-wide solution, introducing incentives for safe disposal, sharpening the use of subsidies, and crucially doing this through the inclusion and mainstreaming of existing informal service providers.


We present a new perspective to image retrieval based on multivariate factor analysis. Modern imaging modalities provide an overwhelming amount of information that cannot be appropriately handled without computerized tools. Image retrieval methods aim to retrieve relevant images from a collected database, based on their content. The problem is made more difficult due to the high dimension of the variable space in which the images are represented. Factor analysis is able to minimize data redundancy and reveal hidden patterns. The characterization of complex features such as shape can be performed in a new lower-dimensional basis, in which the variables account for the correlation among regions of interest. The similarity between images is computed based on a set of vector variables obtained from image registration. Relevance feedback is used to iteratively determine the importance of each factor in the similarity function. The factors that are supposed to encompass the user's preferences are implicitly detected.


This paper investigates how personal connections influencing governance in executive suites are impacted by other governance mechanisms. We use the independent board requirement as an exogenous shock reducing CEO influence in the boardroom. CEOs of the treated firms recoup the loss of influence by increasing their influence in executive suites: The executive suites are filled with more of current CEOs' appointees with pre-existing social connections to the CEOs, leading to closer CEO connectedness with other top executives. The closer connectedness seems to diminish the intended benefits of the regulation. The improvement in the effectiveness of monitoring CEOs and shareholder value are inversely related to the capacity to increase CEO connectedness. These findings highlight the important role CEO connectedness in executive suites plays in determining the overall governance at the firm level. They also demonstrate strengthening a specific governance mechanism can have spillover effects to a seemingly unrelated governing body.


Background Immunodysregulation, polyendocrinopathy, enteropathy, X-linked (IPEX) syndrome is a rare disorder characterised by multiple autoimmunity. Mutations in the fork head box P3 (FOXP3) gene, in chromosome Xp11.23, result in reduced numbers or a complete absence of CD4+regulatory T (Treg) cells and therefore in a variety of clinical presentation. Methods We present the case of a 3-year old male with clinical and laboratory findings of IPEX and a novel mutation of the FOXP3 gene. Results A 3-year Chinese male was admitted to the 3rd Clinic of the First Paediatrics of University of Athens, Greece, due to critical malnutrition. Severe diarrhoea and malabsorption were the predominant symptoms; therefore the administration of long term TPN was essential. The patient underwent a colonoscopy which revealed autoimmune enteropathy, while Diabetes type I, the other major clinical finding, required strict dietary program and insulin administration. Our patient was set on steroids and azathioprine, which was withdrawn however due to cholestasis on day 107. Patient's laboratory findings were constant with immunodeficiency (low immunoglobulins IgA and IgM), nevertheless, the flow cytometry revealed normal number of CD4+/CD25+ regulatory cells. Under the strong suspicion of IPEX syndrome, a molecular analysis was performed and a novel mutation, c.1161G-p. H387Q in FOXP3 gene was identified, confirming the diagnosis. Conclusions A total of 13 allelic variants in FOXP3 have been described so far, leading into different phenotypes of IPEX syndrome. The genetic variant c.1161G has been associated with hepatocellular carcinoma in Chinese population, but has never been reported in IPEX syndrome.


Why do people give when asked, but sort out when possible and take when possible? We show that standard preference axioms including separability, narrow bracketing and scaling invariance predict these seemingly inconsistent observations. Specifically, these axioms imply that altruism represents a concern for the welfare of others, as opposed to their mere payoffs, where individual welfares are captured by the reference-dependent value functions known from Prospect theory. The resulting preferences are non-convex, which captures giving, sorting and taking directly. Re-analyzing choices of 981 subjects in 83 treatments covering many variants of dictator games, we find that individual reference points are distributed consistently across studies, allowing us to classify subjects as either non-givers, altruistic givers or social pressure givers and use welfare-based altruism to reliably predict giving, sorting and taking across experiments.


Soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics are regulated by the complex interplay of climatic, edaphic and biotic conditions. However, the interrelation of SOC and these drivers and their potential connection networks are rarely assessed quantitatively. Using observations of SOC dynamics with detailed soil properties from 90 field trials at 28 sites under different agroecosystems across the Australian cropping regions, we investigated the direct and indirect effects of climate, soil properties, carbon (C) inputs and soil C pools (a total of 17 variables) on SOC change rate (rC, Mg C ha−1 yr−1). Among these variables, we found that the most influential variables on rC were the average C input amount and annual precipitation, and the total SOC stock at the beginning of the trials. Overall, C inputs (including C input amount and pasture frequency in the crop rotation system) accounted for 27% of the relative influence on rC, followed by climate 25% (including precipitation and temperature), soil C pools 24% (including pool size and composition) and soil properties (such as cation exchange capacity, clay content, bulk density) 24%. Path analysis identified a network of intercorrelations of climate, soil properties, C inputs and soil C pools in determining rC. The direct correlation of rC with climate was significantly weakened if removing the effects of soil properties and C pools, and vice versa. These results reveal the relative importance of climate, soil properties, C inputs and C pools and their complex interconnections in regulating SOC dynamics. Ignorance of the impact of changes in soil properties, C pool composition and C input (quantity and quality) on SOC dynamics is likely one of the main sources of uncertainty in SOC predictions from the process‐based SOC models.


There is evidence to suggest that compulsive buying has all the elements of addictive behaviour and can become a psychological problem requiring intervention. The behaviour itself can be triggered by difficulties and distress and generate positive benefits for wellbeing in the short term. Longer term effects can be guilt, anxiety, and depression this sparking a negative affectivity cycle. Interest in the area has been reignited by the growth in online shopping during the recent COVID-19 Pandemic. This study aimed to explore a stress process model of shopping addiction by assessing the relationship between perceived stress, relationship satisfaction, rejection sensitivity, resilience, self-efficacy, loneliness, healthy lifestyle and wellbeing in female emerging adults. The study was based on an online survey of 332 females aged between 18-26 years and used questionnaire data collection. Data were analysed using correlations and path analysis with AMOS 26 software. Results show strong direct relationships between loneliness, rejection sensitivity and shopping addiction, with inverse relationships with resilience, self-efficacy, and relationship satisfaction. There is a reciprocal relationship between wellbeing and shopping addiction, which appears to be a symptom of underlying emotional difficulties. As a widespread and ultimately damaging behaviour it is suggested that it should be taken more seriously than is currently the case.


©The Korean Association of Child Studies This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Corresponding Author: Nana Shin, Department of Child Development & Intervention, Ewha Womans University, 52, Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemungu, Human Ecology Building 402-1, Seoul, 03760, Korea E-mail: email@example.com 어머니의 양육행동과 유아의 실행기능이 유아의 마음이론에 미치는 영향


Abstract. This paper develops a GIS-based integrated approach to the Multi-Hazard model method, with reference to hurricanes. This approach has three components: data integration, hazard assessment and score calculation to estimate elements at risk such as affected area and affected population. First, spatial data integration issues within a GIS environment, such as geographical scales and data models, are addressed. Particularly, the integration of physical parameters and population data is achieved linking remotely sensed data with a high resolution population distribution in GIS. In order to assess the number of affected people, involving heterogeneous data sources, the selection of spatial analysis units is basic. Second, specific multi-hazard tasks, such as hazard behaviour simulation and elements at risk assessment, are composed in order to understand complex hazard and provide support for decision making. Finally, the paper concludes that the integrated approach herein presented can be used to assist emergency management of hurricane consequences, in theory and in practice.


Chemical research has reached a point where the complexity and quantity of data are too great for manual human analysis. Enter the machines. Artificial intelligence is not only becoming an integral part of data analysis but also emerging in other parts of the research workflow, including experimental design and execution. This revolution will be examined broadly but with a particular emphasis on the U.S. Department of Defense, where these technologies are uniquely capable of supporting dynamic and unconventional applications. This chapter will discuss progress in computer-aided synthesis planning (Section 6.1), challenges acquiring and working with chemical data for machine learning (Section 6.2), potential solutions to these challenges (Section 6.3), and their integration into the research workflow (Section 6.4). It is not intended to be a comprehensive review but rather a survey of the emerging challenges and opportunities through the lens of recent research.


Excision of arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) is known to carry a risk of postoperative hemor- rhage, postulated to be the result of normal perfusion pres- sure breakthrough. It is also possible that AVMs may cause a steal effect, reducing perfusion in nearby vessels. There is currently no simple method of visualizing the presence or absence of steal effect intraoperatively. We hypothesized that the infrared thermographic (heat sensi- tive) imaging of perilesional brain may be useful for detecting reduced perfusion due to steal. Moreover, we hypothesized that if steal effect was present, it could impact on ocular perfusion and thereby temperature. Our objective was, therefore, to investigate whether perile- sional cortical and ocular temperature (OT) may be a marker of steal effect. We intraoperatively acquired con- ventional and thermal images of the surgical field and eyes bilaterally, pre- and post-excisions of a large left hemisphere AVM. We found OT asymmetry preopera- tively, which was absent after the AVM was excised. Intraoperative thermal images showed an increase of per- ilesional temperature, although this could be confounded by generalized changes in cortical perfusion due to anes- thetics or surgery. © 2014 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation


In this paper, we prepared a scaffold composed of a polyurethane (PU) fibrous outside-layer and a gelatin-heparin fibrous inner-layer with mimicking morphology and mechanical properties of a native blood vessel by sequential bilayering electrospinning technology on a rotating mandrel-type collector. The scaffolds achieved the appropriate breaking strength (3.7 ± 0.13 MPa) and elongation at break (110 ± 8%). When the scaffolds were immersed in water for 1 h, the breaking strength decreased slightly to 2.2 ± 0.3 MPa, but the elongation at break increased up to 145 ± 21%. Heparin was released from the scaffolds at substantially uniform rate until the 9th day. The scaffolds were expected to mimic the complex matrix structure of native arteries, and had good hemocompatibility as an artificial blood vessel owing to the heparin release.


A depth-averaged finite-difference numerical model has been used to make a preliminary study of the tides under the Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf. Open boundary conditions were specified using the global ocean model of Schwiderski. Tidal constituents for the two principal semi-diurnal constituents M2 and S2, and the two principal diurnal constituents Ο1 and K1 were extracted from computed sea-surface elevations by harmonic analysis. Measured values near to the grounding line could only be reproduced satisfactorily by increasing the bottom friction coefficient under the ice to 50 times the open-ocean value. This destroys any agreement near the ice front or at pelagic sites. It is thought that a friction coefficient which varies with distance under the ice would be able to reproduce better all the available measurements. More tidal measurements are required to validate any model of the region with model experiments being used to help pinpoint possible sites for instrument deployment.


Ginger extract (GE) and its major component 6-gingerol (6G) have been reported to exert anti-tumor effects in various cancers. The underlying mechanism, however, has not been well demonstrated. Here, we have focused on the relationship between promotion of mitochondrial biogenesis in tumor infiltrating CD8+ T cells induced by GE and 6G and their cytotoxic effect. The results showed that GE induced 56% inhibition of tumor growth in Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) xenograft mouse model and 6G induced 33% (25 mg/kg) and 37% (50 mg/kg) inhibition. GE increased mitochondrial mass of CD8+ T cells in tumor and draining lymph nodes (DLNs) significantly, while 6G had no significant effect. GE and 6G both had no significant influence on histopathological changes of liver and kidney in mice. In the co-culture system of CTLL-2 cells and LLC cells, GE enhanced the cytotoxicity of CTLL-2 cells against LLC cells by 14% and 19% at concentrations of 2.5 and 5 mg/ml, respectively. 6G did not promote cytotoxicity of CTLL-2 cells. GE increased mitochondrial mass at 5 and 10 mg/ml and mtDNA copy number and ATP production at 2.5, 5, 10 mg/ml in CTLL-2 cells. 6G promoted mtDNA copy number at 50, 100, 150 µM and mitochondrial mass and ATP production at 25, 50, 100, 150 µM in CTLL-2 cells. These results suggest that promotion of mitochondrial biogenesis and function in tumor infiltrating CD8+ T cells may play an essential role in GE-induced inhibition of tumor growth. The current results perfect the mechanism of anti-tumor effect of ginger, which is beneficial for further application in cancer management. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Ginger, as a worldwide food seasoning and herbal medicine in traditional Chinese medicine, has been reported to possess anti-tumor efficacy. To our knowledge, it is the first time to focus on ginger's ability of promoting mitochondrial biogenesis in tumor infiltrating CD8+ T cells to explore the mechanism of its anti-tumor effect. Our observations demonstrate that ginger inhibits tumor growth via promoting mitochondrial biogenesis and function of T cells. The present study links food to anti-tumor immunity and provides impetus to investigate and design dietary supplements for cancer management.


Miniaturized portable and wearable electronics have diverse power requirements, ranging from one microwatt to several milliwatts. Fiber-based micro-supercapacitors are promising energy storage devices that can address these manifold power requirements. Here, we demonstrate a hydrothermal assembly method using space confinement fillers to control the formation of nitrogen doped reduced graphene oxide and multi-walled carbon nanotube hybrid fibers. Consequently, the all-carbon hybrid fibers have tunable geometries, while maintaining good electrical conductivity, high ion-accessible surface area and mechanical strength; this allows us to address two important issues in micro-supercapacitor research. First, we found a clear correlation between the geometry of the hybrid fibers and their capacitive energy storage properties. Thinner fibers (30 μm in diameter) have higher specific volumetric capacitance (281 F cm−3), superior rate capability, and better length dependent performance. In contrast, larger-diameter hybrid fibers (236 μm in diameter) can achieve much higher specific length capacitance (42 mF cm−1). Second, we realized the first built-to-order concept for micro-supercapacitors by using all-carbon hybrid fibers with diversified geometry as electrodes. The device energy can cover two orders of magnitude, from <0.1 μW h to nearly 10 μW h, and the device power can be tuned in four orders of magnitude, from 0.2 μW to 2000 μW. Furthermore, multiple mechanically flexible fiber-based micro-supercapacitors can be integrated into complex energy storage units with wider operation voltage windows, demonstrating broad application potentials in flexible devices.